Grey Hallway MELTDOWN. Please help

[SnotandBothered]

DESPERATE!

Quite narrow victorian terrace hallway. Loft conversion, so lots of stairs up. Wooden floor downstairs and pale, neutral carpet up the rest and landings etc.

I have wanted to paint the hall grey for ages - not too dark but not insipid - defo not a 'hint of...'. Strong enough so that framed prints stand out and look quite contemporary, but not gloomy. Definitely prefer the greys that go towards the warmer lilacs and puttys to the green grey like F&B French grey.

So after starring at pinned up painted sheets of a4 paper for 6 months, I whittled it down to a couple and decided on F&B Calluna which was slightly towards the lilac and F&B strong white woodwork. Decorators are now in and did first coat yesterday. It is lovely but utterly purple and not what I want for the hall. I slept on it, woke up today hoping it wouldn't be quite so purple and it is even more so - it will have to go.

But I am now on an expensive clock as the decorators are here now and I'm under pressure to pick something tomorrow. I have spent all day today dragging friends and strangers off the street demanding that they 'choose' out of the random paint sample pots that I rushed out and bought this morning but I am not really any the wiser.

I like:

Crown spotlight - on some walls. ON others it just disappears to almost white 'with a hint of...'

Crown Cloudburst - on some walls. On others it is quite dark and I wonder if it will be gloomy

F&B Blackened. But again disappears on some of the walls and doesn't act as a backdrop to set of pictures. I have dismissed all other F&B greys as being too green or dark (Elephants Breath nice but dark)

Dulux - can't find anything I like

Fired Earth - like the look of light umber online, but scared to add more testers to the wall unless someone really thinks this might be the solution.
www.firedearth.com/paint/colour/creams-neutrals/light-umber
...also might be insipid?

Johnstones Moonlit sky looks nice on paper but might be too blue....

Can anyone guage where I am going with this and make any suggestions? Crown 'smoky mist' looks potentially good online but, again, who can tell?

And I daren't even go down the Craig and Rose route as I don't think I'd get it in time and, time (in this instance) really is money.


Please help of wise and stylish MNers.

[cooper44]

Yes I'd never describe calluna as a true grey. It's got lots of lilac. Poor you.
Are you in London? Paint and paper library lead is a gorgeous proper grey. In different tones and sounds like you'd want lead 3. I also really like little green French grey. Can you link to the other colours you're looking at?

[cooper44]

Light umber looks lovely but it's nothing like a grey. At all.

[SnotandBothered]

Yes in London cooper.

I think the problem is that the 'greys' that make my heart sing are actually very lilac in the tin (and even more so on the walls) like this one:

www.craigandrose.com/venetian-glamour

This to me looks like heaven, but I know it will be purple when on. I'm looking for something rich and grey. But not purple and not green. Does that even exist?

I will go and look at the two you just mentioned right now....

[SnotandBothered]

Little Greene looks pretty but I'd have to find a stockist and decide on the dark/lighter option pretty quick. Will have a quick scout about now...

[cooper44]

Oh yes that's really nice but it's quite a putty colour. Yes true greys absolutely exist. I just looked again at the little Greene one and I think it's a really good one. Although the pale is super pale so def don't consider that. But they do mid and dark tones too. On their website there's a room set showing all the tones so you get a better idea. Not ideal choosing colours on a screen! (Sorry unhelpful comment)

[permaquandry]

F&B Calluna is a good compromise. It is grey but yy to lilac in it. Good for a small space. F&B Pavilion Grey would be good. It is not dark or heavy. I tried this on pieces of paper and on small areas of plasterboard and it looked completely completely different everywhere.

Now it's on the walls, am extremely pleased with it and have lots of compliments and people using it themselves. Also, had Blackened on a windowless room, it looks very pale, more off-white.

Good luck.

[permaquandry]

F&B Calluna is a good compromise. It is grey but yy to lilac in it. Good for a small space. F&B Pavilion Grey would be good. It is not dark or heavy. I tried this on pieces of paper and on small areas of plasterboard and it looked completely completely different everywhere.

Now it's on the walls, am extremely pleased with it and have lots of compliments and people using it themselves. Also, had Blackened on a windowless room, it looks very pale, more off-white.

Good luck.

[permaquandry]

F&B Calluna is a good compromise. It is grey but yy to lilac in it. Good for a small space. F&B Pavilion Grey would be good. It is not dark or heavy. I tried this on pieces of paper and on small areas of plasterboard and it looked completely completely different everywhere.

Now it's on the walls, am extremely pleased with it and have lots of compliments and people using it themselves. Also, had Blackened on a windowless room, it looks very pale, more off-white.

Good luck.

[namechange74]

Nothing helpful to add apart from that you have my sympathy. Decorator painted our bedroom grey on Tuesday and i hate it. Complete waste of money as i'll have to get it re-done. BOO to my shite choice!
Hope you get it sorted OP.

[Nyancat]

dulux chic shadow is a nice soft mid grey. I have it in our bedroom and loads of people have commented on it.

[SnotandBothered]

perma I thought the Calluna was the middle ground but it's definitely super-lilac on most of the walls of the hallway. It's a shame because the depth of colour is perfect and the tone is close but truly purple.

namechange thanks for sympathy. I hope you can rectify your bedroom. Has he done the woodwork etc ok? I always think this is the bit I can't do so maybe you could redo the walls yourself if the doors/skirting are ok?

cooper Yes I definitely don't want wishy washy but I just want a bit of warmth/glamour not cold blue/green grey. There is a stockist near me so maybe a quick run there post school-run in the morning.

Oh for the 80s when it was white/magnolia or white with a hint of magnolia.

Any more suggestions still gratefully received.

[cooper44]

Also to add to your problems I'd be wary of F&B strong white if you have a cooler grey. It looks great with the warmer earthier greys but I think the sort of grey you're after needs a crisper proper white on the woodwork. (I spent years trying to perfect this combo in my first flat hence OTT interest in the theme!)

[evelynj]

F&b pavilion grey every time. It's lovely. I have in here in my bedroom & love it every night & morning I waken. Looks great with pbw & black or white frame pictures are good.

We did our hallway in a similar dulux chic shadow but I'd be happy to have the whole house pavilion grey.

Good luck

[evelynj]

Don't go by the tin ever, pavilion grey looks a bit too nothing in the tin or on the swatch card but over a large expanse the colour is really intensified as it's spread everywhere. There's no doubt it's grey but still airy, classy & relaxing.

[Pannacotta]

Have you tried F&B Elephants Breath? That is a good neutral grey which is easy to live with and looks good against other colours.

[evelynj]

Sorry to sound so evangelical but I found elephants breath too 'greige', I.e a bit grey but a bit (too) beige. Definitely browner than pavilion grey. Can you tell I tested most F&b colours before settling?!

[SnotandBothered]

cooper you have only said what I was trying not to think about the woodwork. Oh god....

evelyn Pavillion Grey is lovely but looks too green on my walls
Panna Elephants Breath also lovely but looks dark pink on my walls


This is a nightmare, which is a shame because I had been looking forward to the 'colour bit'. :(

[SnotandBothered]

Definitely don't want to go taupe/brown either. (Fussy)

[Pannacotta]

OP said she liked the greys which were closer to putty which E Breath is and which work well with prints etc against it, again E Breath is a good backdrop colour.

[Pannacotta]

E Breath not brown or taupe (though it does alter depending on the light), I'd call it more putty. But yes perhaps darker than you want.

www.google.co.uk/search?q=elephants+breath&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=OyoiU6rJLque0wWW8YHoDg&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1301&bih=561

[Pannacotta]

Btw have you looked at Little Greene, they have a good range of greys?

[ClaudetteWyms]

Can I throw in F&B Shaded White? Doesn't look much on its own, but put it against proper white, and framed pics on it, and it's the perfect putty-ish light grey

If it seems too pale and you want a bit more drama I can not recommend Old White enough - it's a slightly darker version. But it is quite greenish (kind of olive tones). Looks fab with pictures up.

[SophieLeGiraffe]

I have Charleston Grey in my dining room. I love it but in different lights and depending what you put against it, might be too brown for you?

Otherwise I love the Pavilion Grey someone linked to and I really wish I'd done my hallways in Elephants Breath rather than boring bloody white I went for.

[LillyAlien]

First world problems.

[AndiPandi]

I've got Crown Smoky Mist and love it, it's just the right shade of warm grey I was looking for in my son's room. We did just 1 wall with 3 white walls and I love the contrast without it being too much 'feature wall' looking., so I think it might work well for the look you're after. The trouble is so much comes down to the lighting in your own room, colours look so different!